Adding Weight

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Can anyone post some pics of where, how much weight they add to a wood plug? I am playing with crankbait and swim baits and am trying to get the weight addition correct. I am looking for input and examples.

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I don't think there are a lot, but do a search here for threads about weights.

I am no lure master builder, but I can copy anything, and do. Successful lures have already solved most of the problems, and I can do variations of the type of lure, once I've learned how to make that style.

I typically take a lure that I like, and try to simulate it's floating characteristics by floating it in my bucket of water to see how it sits.

I keep my ballast as low as possible, no matter what kind of lure I'm making.

For me, there are several "rules of thumb" I follow:

For topwater walking baits, I want the tail to sit lower in the water than the head. The smaller the lure, the lower it should hang. 2" poppers and 4" walking baits hang down at 75 degrees. Big baits, like 7" punker knockoffs, hang almost horizontal, with the top of the head out of the water, and the rear 2/3s barely awash. The deeper the tail sits, the harder it is to walk a bait. Small baits are easy to cast and fish, and need the extra weight to walk properly, so hanging down a lot is okay. Big baits walk fine with less hang down because they are already heavy. Too much hang down in them makes walking them a brutal exercise, instead of fun fishing, because you have to fight too much water resistence if they hang low.

For cranks, I try to have them hang down head first at about a 20 degree angle+-. A lure with a bill (or lip) needs to get that bill digging into the water as quickly as possible, so it will dive to it's designed depth fast, and be more effective longer.

I usually use a store bought crank that's similar, and copy how it sits. Rapala DT lures are a great model to follow. I always add the ballast weight between the front hook hanger and the lip, and as low as possible.

For jointed swimbaits, I try to keep the ballast as far forward as possible. I add it first to the front section, and then in the second, if needed, but never in the tail. Having the tail buoyant is the key to getting a good, horizontal swimming action at low speed.

How much ballast to add depends on how you want the lure to float, or sink. I shape the lure, add the hinges, hooks, and line tie, and float test it to see how much ballast I need in order to achieve the floating/sinking I want.

I hang egg sinkers and split shots from the tines of the front treble to figure out how much ballast a lure needs, and then match that amount of weight with my 1/4" lead wire that I use for the actual ballast.

This is just what works for me. There are lots of different methods that work great.